Get PR Famous in Your Industry Through Media

Who doesn’t want to be well-known in their industry? Getting PR Famous is a way to stand out and be seen as THE expert and it gives you a ton of credibility. The best way to do this is to use social media and PR together. It’s like digital magic. It casts a wider net and gives you a louder voice. By using them together, you exponentially multiply the number of potential eyes that can learn about your business.Just about everyone is on some form of social media. Many people are pitching themselves to the media. But no one is really showing you how to use them together for maximum exposure. Use just one, you’ll get decent results but use them together, with a strategy, you will explode your visibility.

Social Media

Let’s start with social media. Think of it as the foundation of marketing in 2018.  As a business owner, you must be on social media. If you don’t think you need to be on social media, consider the fact that there are over 2.7 billion active social media users in the world. Can you afford to not be on social media and miss out on this potential market? I speak all over the country on this topic and the question I get everywhere I go is, “Which platform is best?” There is no “right” platform for everyone. The first question you need to ask yourself is, “Where are your customers?” The next question is, “Which platform are you the most comfortable with and which is the one that you will engage the most on?” You don’t have to be on every platform. In fact, I recommend starting with one and doing it really well. Then, move on to another one. Implementing a strategy on a social media platform and doing it well is the key to success in social media. You want your followers to get to know the real, authentic YOU so they want to work with you or buy from you. Know the platform and use it to its highest potential. If you like Facebook, start using Facebook Live, today. Right now, Facebook Live is THE most effective way to get more eyes on a Facebook post. In fact, Facebook’s current algorithms are letting 6 times more people see Facebook Live posts than any other posts. Pick a platform and just start. If you are using social media, make sure you are using that platform to its fullest capabilities and get the best bang for your time buck by getting the most out of it.

PR

Up-level your marketing plan by adding in free publicity. What is known for certain is that the more visibility you get, the more potential customers you are exposed to and that ultimately means more profits. You’re growing your visibility with social media and now by adding in free publicity, you’re making it all happen much faster and to a larger audience. Below is my proven Get PR Famous Formula. Make sure you use all three steps in the formula for PR success.

Be Newsworthy

My biggest piece of advice when it comes to publicity is to start locally. Local media loves to cover stories about local businesses. “New” is the key word in newsworthy. How can you tie “new” to your business? If you’re a new business or have a new significant hire or a new location, that is newsworthy. Did you invent a new product, write a book, or win an award? Those are all topics that interest local media. What is your expertise and how can you share that in a newsworthy manner? An accountant can talk about new tax laws and what that means for local businesses. A roofer can speak about the importance of clearing leaves out of gutters in the fall to prevent clogs, which leads to roof leaks. A Realtor can share three best bang-for-your-buck upgrades before selling. What is your expertise and what value can you provide a media outlet’s audience?

Find the Right Journalist

The next step is finding the right journalist. Remember that Google is a question search engine. Ask Google, “Who writes about [your topic] at [name of publication]?” In the majority of searches for journalists at local media outlets, all their contact information comes up including email address and phone number. This is an important step because you don’t want to send your business story to the food editor. Remember to use the phone number to follow up with the journalist. Many are overwhelmed with emails and often forget your pitch even came in, even if they loved it.

Create a Great Hook

Last is the “hook.” You want to hook the journalist in with your subject line so they will want to read your email. Look at magazine covers for great hook examples. People get paid for you to make an impulse purchase in the grocery store check-out line based on the article title/hook on the cover. What are they putting on the cover to hook you in so that you want to buy the magazine to read the article? Also, think about on television when they say, “Coming up next…” That is a hook. What will make you stay through the commercials to hear the next story?This 3-step Get PR Famous Formula is the key to publicity success. By pitching the media in this way, you will be light-years ahead of your competition and journalists will be thrilled to work with you because you’ve just made their job that much easier but giving them exactly what they need.

Social Media + PR = MAGIC

The final step is using social media and PR together to create the magic. This is the secret sauce of the system. When you find the right journalist, connect with them on social media. If they are active on Twitter, follow them, retweet them, share their work and comment on their stories. Connect on LinkedIn by saying you’ve read or watched their work and you welcome the opportunity to connect. Become a valuable resource for the journalist. Build relationships through social media so that when you pitch, you are a warm lead versus a cold one.The media is pitched all the time, sometimes thousands of pitches in a day, but very few people take the time to get to know the journalist. Do your homework on both the media outlet and the journalist so you can be a valuable resource to them versus just another pitch. By doing your homework and learning about that media outlet and what and how they cover their stories will allow you to pitch them exactly what they want and exponentially increase your chances of being covered.

Join the Free PR Challenge

Want more? If you’re willing to give 10 minutes a day to gain massive visibility in your business, then I invite you to take the free PR Challenge, www.YourPRChallenge.com. I take you step-by-step through how to get free publicity. In 10-days you could get tens of thousands, even millions of new eyes on your business. Join today! Christina Daves is a do-it-yourself publicity expert. She is the best-selling author or PR for Anyone™ 100+ Affordable Ways to Easily Create Buzz for Your Business. Christina has appeared in over 250 media outlets including TODAY, Steve Harvey, local affiliates of ABC, NBC, CBS, and FOX, The Washington Post, Forbes, Success Magazine, Sirius XM Radio, and more. She is also a sought-after Keynote speaker and corporate trainer.